Author Archives: McNeill Nakamoto

Is LinkedIn your Rolodex?

In the old days, one would go to a networking event, exchange business cards, and put the business cards in their Rolodex. The business landscape has changed a lot since then. It is a much more fast paced environment.

Today the common practice is to gather business cards and almost immediately connect online. Connections made off line continue online. And if you’re a really good connector, continue offline again.

We’re curious to know how quick you are to react when it comes to building your network.

GrapeJuice raises $82,000 for Big Sisters

We are happy to announce that this year’s Grape Juice event at Ferrari Maserati of Vancouver raised over $82,000 for Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland.

Since 2007, the GrapeJuice wine auction has raised over $242,000 for Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland.

Special thanks to “Vanhattan’s man about town” Fred Lee who, by popular demand, returned to be our GrapeJuice auctioneer.  Another highlight of the evening was when singer Chantal Kreviazuk surprised the crowd with her song ‘Invincible’.

MAC Marketing Solutions and McNeill Nakamoto created Grape Juice to raise much needed funds to facilitate the matching process for over 100 at risk young girls on the Big Sisters waitlist. Big Sisters of BC lower Mainland matches volunteer mentors with young girls who face a multitude of challenges.

A big thank you to all of our generous GrapeJuice sponsors , donors, guests and volunteers!

Enjoy the slideshow below:

BIV Boardroom Strategy: Candid realities about business' dirty little secret

Reblogged from Some thoughts on strategy, leadership, and corporate culture.:

Click to visit the original post
  • Click to visit the original post

In an effort to avoid conflict, leaders and team members often conceal their true feelings, withhold their opinions or outwardly agree and go along with the crowd while inside they are vehemently opposed.

For some, this lack of candour also extends to hoarding information or avoiding communicating with others entirely, in an effort to save face or get and stay ahead of the pack.

Read more… 664 more words

Administrative Professionals Day

Next week is time to celebrate Administrative Professionals Day / Week. This is a great time to observe the importance of administrative professionals in the workplace.

Joe Fortes Restaurant is celebrating by offering a complimentary lunch for administrative professionals during the week of April 23-27. See the details here.

The Vancouver chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) will host their annual breakfast event on April 25th at the Vancouver Convention Centre West.

Doors open at 7:00 am and a plated breakfast will be served at 7:30 am, when Michelle Ray, founder of Lead Yourself First Institute, takes the podium.

The theme of the 2012 Administrative Professionals Week and Day is “Admins, the Pulse of the Office”.

Download the Administrative Professionals event info with event details and registration info.

Ferrari Maserati of Vancouver presents GRAPEJUICE wine auction

Join founding sponsors  McNeill Nakamoto Recruitment Group and MAC Marketing Solutions for the 5th annual GrapeJuice Wine Auction for Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland.

“GrapeJuice” is the social wine event and auction tailored for wine aficionados both casual and serious. And most importantly, it’s all for a great cause – Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland.

Once again, GrapeJuice will be a terrific, fun, after work function – it will take place on Thursday, April 26th 2012 at the gorgeous 3rd floor showroom of Ferrari Maserati of Vancouver between 5:30 and 8:30 pm.

Tickets are $100 (a tax receipt is available for a portion of the ticket price) and attendees will be able to sample top wines from both BC and around the world, bid on a wide selection of wines (including some hard to find ones), as well as enjoy some delicious appetizers provided by The Lazy Gourmet. If you are a wine connoisseur or simply enjoy wine and a great social event, then this event will certainly appeal to you!

This event is limited to 250 people and the last event sold out so we encourage you to buy your tickets soon!  Big Sisters will of course happily accept cash donations or wine donations for the silent auction as well if you are unable to attend.

To donate money or purchase tickets call Rena Regier at 604.873.4525 ext. 302 or complete the online web form. For information on how to donate wine or contribute to Grape Juice contact Jessica Rozitis.

www.grapejuicevancouver.com
Like GrapeJuice on Facebook
Follow GrapeJuice on Twitter
 

See you Thursday April 26th at Ferrari Maserati of Vancouver!!!

Cheers!

The Clover Food Lab Story

Clover Food Lab is proof that a great corporate culture is the responsibility of the CEO to foster right from the very beginning. That means describing the values, living the values, and sharing stories about what makes your culture great. From there it becomes the job of everyone in the business to passionately model the culture you want to see. In Clover’s case it’s building that culture from the ground up, providing opportunities for growth, living and breathe transparency (even the kitchen are completely open), stick to your values, and promoting what you believe in in an actionable way (“promote environmental well-being, one meal at a time.”).

How are people modelling culture in your organization?

This guest post was written by:

Mike Desjardins

Mike Desjardins is the Driver (CEO) at ViRTUS (www.virtusinc.com), an organizational development consulting firm with expertise in strategic planning and implementation, leadership development, change management and succession planning for medium to large organizations. He regularly blogs at www.mikedesjardins.com.

Job Hunting Using Social Media

Ask anybody how they got their last job, and the typical answer would be  networking. That definition can be blurred now, from offline networking to online networking. As we know there are many useful tools out there for job seekers to help in their pursuit of new employment. This infographic from Jobvite shows some interesting statistics about the social network job search.

click on the image for a larger view
source: Jobvite

Do you love your job?

Author: Bagande

Image via Wikipedia

Research shows that people who are happy at work, are better performers, have strong relationships with colleagues, and open communication with their managers. All of this leads to high employee retention, work satisfaction and a healthy corporate culture.

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we ask you one quick question…

The Importance of Teamwork and Positive Energy in the Workplace

Employees are a company’s greatest asset or the biggest liability.

It is one thing to hire exceptional individuals it is another to hire exceptional individuals who are leaders and who understand the importance of positive energy and the power of working together as a team to achieve dynamic results.

Positive energy flow and teamwork is vital to the long term growth of any establishment. Be aware that negative energy and ego can contaminate an entire establishment – all it takes is one individual.

Creating a strong positive team environment is important. Each individual plays a significant role in the overall energy force contributing positive or negative energy in the workplace. “Teamwork not only allows a person to do what he couldn’t otherwise do; it also has a compounding effect on all he possesses – including talent. A group of talented people committed to working together is a work of art. – John Maxwell

Understanding each team member’s strengths and weaknesses including varying energy levels and pairing up individuals who balance one another to create a team can be beneficial to all. In addition, hire individuals who are willing to learn from one another and support one another’s growth regardless of their position within the company. Look for the greatness within each individual and pair them with teammates who complement one another encouraging growth, support and teamwork.

A Chinese proverb states, “Behind an able man there are always other able men” The truth is that teamwork is at the heart of great achievement. The question isn’t whether teams have value, the question is whether we acknowledge that fact and become better team players – John Maxwell

One is too small a number to achieve greatness. Nothing of significance was ever achieved by an individual acting alone. Look below the surface and you will find that all seemingly solo acts are really team efforts. – John Maxwell

You are only as good as the employees you hire.

This guest post was written by Janis Gall of MAC Marketing Solutions

photo credit: kool_skatkat

Top 6 McNak Blog posts of 2011

‘Tis the season for reflection, so in that spirit, here is a quick snapshot of our most read blog articles for 2011:

  1. Ever had a difficult situation where you didn’t want to let someone down with unwelcome news, so you avoided personal contact, and resorted to e-mail? The post, Don’t hide behind email  was selected for WordPress’s Freshly Pressed, and elicited many great comments.
  2. Written by one of our Gen Y staff members, the article Facebook friend or foe serves up an interesting perspective on how your activity on Facebook could affect your career.
  3. No matter what profession, no matter what stage in our lives, actor Kevin Spacey’s Wise Words can apply to all of us.
  4. What do you want to be when you grow up? Vancouverite Sean Aiken set out to do something different. He decided to try out 52 jobs, one week at a time. An inspiring documentary are the results of Sean’s One Week Job project.
  5. Here are 4 excellent points from Mike Desjardins of ViRTUS in his article about Influencing Corporate Culture
  6. Arianna Huffington’s funny TED Talk about the importance of sleep. It clearly makes sense that sleep is the Ultimate Productivity Tool

This year the McNak blog has seen more page views than ever before. We’d like take this opportunity to thank you all for taking the time to read, comment and share our articles. We have more grand plans for 2012 so watch this space.

Happy New Year!